Chocolate Eclairs

Ingredients

• Oven Temp: 350F-180C
• For  Cases
• Butter ¼ cup (60 g)
• Water 2/3 cup (160 g)
• Salt 1/8 tsp
• Flour (Maida) 2/3 cup (80 g)
• Eggs, slightly beaten 2 large
• Filling:
• Cream, chilled 1 cup (240 g)
• Sugar, powdered ¼ cup (60 g)
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp
• Rum 2 tbsp (30 g) optional
• Chocolate Icing:
• Cocoa powder 1 tbsp
• Water 1 tbsp
• Icing (Confectioner’s) Sugar ½ cup (120 g)
• Butter 1 tsp
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Preparation

• Place butter, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, add the flour, remove from heat and beat well till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

• When cool enough to touch, beat in the eggs with an electric beater (a little at a time, if not using an electric beater), till the mixture is light and fluffy.

• Rinse a plastic bag (or icing bag) with water. Fill the bag with the egg and flour mixture and snip a ¾”-1” hole in one corner.

• Take an un-greased baking tray and pipe out straight lines of about 3” length, spaced an inch part.

• Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes (they stop making a faint sizzling sound). Remove from oven and pierce on the side with a knife and leave to cool. They would sink if not pierced.

• Whip cream, sugar, vanilla and rum together till thick enough to be piped out.

• Mix icing ingredients together over low heat, till well blended and smooth.

• When puff cases are cool, snip a cut into the top half, enough for an icing nozzle to be pushed in to fill the cream in.

• Slit the éclairs horizontally half way, till just short of the edge, so they stay joined. Pipe the cream into the cases with and icing gun or polythene bag.

• Coat the exposed part with the icing, and serve.